India Day 7 - Birla Mandir & India Gate

View the first post in this series here.
View the previous post in this series here.

23 Mar 08

Woke up to an early morning and began packing my belongings. I will be flying off at 23:15 tonight. Having not tried any food from Hotel Geeson. I decided to have breakfast at the hotel's restaurant.

An omelette. An onion tasted strange. So I popped some Imodium as usual.

After breakfast, I left my luggage at the hotel and made my way to Birla Mandir (The Laxminarayan Temple). One of the largest Hindu temples in the area. I wanted this auto rickshaw driver to take me to Birla Mandir for 20 Rs (USD 0.50) but settled for 30 Rs in the end. His vehicle could not start and his "friend" had to help him start the engine while he pushed from the back. His "friend" was trying to tell me to take his auto rickshaw instead. Nice. Luckily for him, his auto rickshaw started and I left for my first stop, Birla Mandir, followed by the India Gate.

The base of a tree near Birla Mandir. Looks like an elephant.



A Buddist Temple to the left of Birla Mandir shared the same wall as it.


Panorama of Birla Mandir from across the road.


The tree "roofs" of the temple are its main feature


Originally built in 1622 it was improved a many times till present. It is built to honour the Hindu Goddess of Wealth, Laxmi.



The temple looks very new and is well-kept. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed inside.


The Swastika features predominately all over the temple.


The garden beside the temple is accessible to camera


Vikramaditya, the Great Hindu Hero


Couldn't read the Hindi script to know who this was


The underside a pavilion in the garden


Some nice flowers


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India Gate from the top


The road leading up to India Gate


What looked like Gurkas guarding the India's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier right below the gate.


The India Gate was built to commemorate the Indian soldiers that perished as a result of The Great War (WWI).


It seems to be a popular Sunday spot for many. The large fields surrounding it are full of people playing cricket. Traffic is not allowed in here.


Last look at India Gate


A tricycle near the gate

Next I decided to go to a nearby shopping area to look for a bookstore in hope of buying some cheap books. Sadly, along the way I met a friendly local that told me it is probably closed on Sunday. In any case after the walk in the hot sun I arrived at the shopping area and found Mc'donalds waiting for me, much to my satisfaction.

Along the way I passed some landed properties. It seems that each house has a small booth in front of their gate. Perhaps it was for the household's personal security guard.


A rare sight -- a Jewish Synagogue


Mc'donalds!


The inside


"Beef and beef products not sold here". Darn, no Big Macs, they do have the Maharaja Burger though.


I had the iced tea, it was superb and only costs 20 Rs (USD 0.50)!



Then, I had something safe for lunch -- a Mc'Chicken Meal for 109 Rs (USD 2.73)

Having eaten and rested, I left the comfort of the air conditioning in Mc'donalds to look for an auto rickshaw to take me to my next big destination -- Humayun's Tomb.

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